The former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor is running against Republican Jay Webber in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, which includes parts of Montclair. The seat has been held by retiring Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen since 1995, and has been held by Republicans for decades.

Democratic state chairman John Currie and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also attended Sherrill’s kick-off event.

Joe Biden and Mikie Sherrill at Montclair State University on Sept. 5. NEIL GRABOWSKY/FOR MONTCLAIR LOCAL

“We have a duty as citizens of a democracy to fight for what we know this country stands for,” Sherrill said. She said the U.S. was not built by heroes, but instead by “ordinary people.”

Biden told the crowd that “we are in a battle for the soul of America” and called on the crowd to return to American values. He also told the students to do their part by voting in the Nov. 6 elections.

Sherrill took 78 percent of the vote in the June Democratic primary. Webber won the Republican primary with 40 percent.